Movies - The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

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	Movies - The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, an original made-for-television movie, aired May 20, 2005 as a special Friday night edition of ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney.

Adapted from L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Adam F. Goldberg and The Simpsons writer Tom Martin, this latest retelling of the classic story follows Dorothy (Ashanti) as she journeys through an Oz populated by Muppets to find the Wizard and become a star.

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, was directed by Kirk Thatcher, a Henson veteran who helmed the Muppets' last hit television special, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
, which aired on NBC in 2002. The movie was produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with Fox Television Studios, Touchstone Television and Muppets Holding Company.

Airdates

World Premiere: April 27, 2005 at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Broadcast Premiere: May 20, 2005 at 8/7c on ABC in the US, and on CTV and CBC in Canada.

British premiere: December 18, 2005 on five.

The Cast

Ashanti
- Dorothy Gale
Kermit the Frog - The Scarecrow
The Great Gonzo - The Tin Thing
Fozzie Bear
- The Cowardly Lion
Miss Piggy - Glinda
, the Good Witch of the South
Miss Piggy - The Wicked Witch of the West
Miss Piggy - The Good Witch of the North
Miss Piggy - The Wicked Witch of the East
Pepe the Prawn - Toto
Rizzo the Rat - Munchkin
Queen Latifah
- Aunt Em
David Alan Grier
- Uncle Henry
Jeffrey Tambor
- The Wizard
Quentin Tarantino
- Himself

Supporting Muppet Cast includes: Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, Sam the Eagle, Scooter, Statler, Waldorf, the Swedish Chef, Sweetums, Crazy Harry, Clifford, Foo Foo, Camilla, Johnny Fiama, Sal Manilla, and the Muppet Penguins.

History

The film marks the first major project after the acquisition of the Muppets property by The Walt Disney Company, which The Jim Henson Company is still consulting under. Since April 2004, The Muppets have been being re-introduced to the public by way of low-key marketing and guest appearances on such shows as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Good Morning America and Saturday Night Live
in hopes for a successful turn in the ratings by the time the new telefilm hits the air. A successful re-launch of the franchise is dependent on a good return in ratings for the evening, airing the same week Star Wars: Episode III premieres.

The adaptation

This film departs from the original Oz novel in a number of noticeable ways: Dorothy's family owns a diner instead of a farm; Toto is a prawn; the Tin Woodsman is a robot. Many of the characters' personalities and backgrounds are given a show-biz makeover; for instance, this version's Dorothy dreams of being a famous singer, and at first she plans to ask the Wizard to give her fame rather than a way back to Kansas.

However, in several respects the plot follows the novel more closely than does the classic 1939 movie: For example, the Good Witch of the North (who greets Dorothy when she arrives in Oz) and Glinda (who shows her how to get home) are separate characters; the magic shoes are silver instead of ruby; when Dorothy defeats the Wicked Witch of the West she gains control of the Winged Monkeys; and the Wizard meets with each of Dorothy's friends separately in a different guise.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for The Muppets' Wizard of Oz ]

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